Talk:Classification of Puruṣhakāra Karm: A Time Perspective:Āgāmi Karm

By Vishal Agarwal

It is that karm which will be performed in the future, and that which is being performed currently. Sometimes, āgāmi karm itself is divided into two categories: kriyamāṇa (“being performed”) karm and āgāmi (“future”) karm. The former refers to the fresh karm performed in the present lifetime, whereas the latter represents intended future actions or plans that have not yet been acted upon and currently exist only in the form of thoughts. These plans may or may not eventually be carried out, but the very fact that they are entertained in the mind is said to result in karmic consequences. For example, a person may plan to kill someone he hates but never carry out the act. Nevertheless, according to the doctrine of karm, the evil intention itself results in bad karm whose consequences must be experienced at some point in the future.

Some authors define āgāmi karm in another way:

“….karm or future actions which our present actions will cause. Effects of one’s actions can become causes for his future actions and reactions…..”

However, future actions may or may not be effects of present actions. They may not be related to present actions at all. Such actions can perhaps also be treated as āgāmi karm.

Sometimes, though comparatively rarely, a further distinction is made between āgāmi karm and kriyamāṇa karm. According to this view, āgāmi karm is that whose fruit will manifest in future lives and will therefore be added to the stock of sañcita karm, whereas kriyamāṇa karm is that whose effects will be experienced relatively soon and definitely within the present lifetime. However, this distinction resembles the categories of dṛṣṭa-phala karm and adṛṣṭa-phala karm. Therefore, this definition of āgāmi karm and kriyamāṇa karm will not be adopted here.